Zinc as Adjunct Therapy in Neonatal Sepsis

What is it about?

Altered zinc homeostasis is an important feature of pediatric sepsis, thus raising the possibility of zinc supplementation as a therapeutic strategy in neonatal sepsis, a major source of morbidity and mortality with few therapeu-tic options beyond antibiotics. Its objective was to find the role of zinc as adjunct therapy in neonatal sepsis.

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Why is it important?

Despite advances in antimicrobial treatment, outcomes of neonatal sepsis remain poor. Development of inexpensive and accessible interventions that could improve treatment outcomes and reduce case fatality is important7 . Zinc is important for mucosal barrier function and components of innate and adaptive immunity, such as lytic activity of phagocytes and natural killer cells, and expression of cytokines. Short-term zinc supplementation decreased the bacterial load and reduced the NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) activity in vital organs. One multicenter study in India using zinc as adjunctive therapy have shown significant reduction of neonatal mortality. They have reported that zinc reduced treatment failure in infants younger than 120 days with probable serious bacterial infection by 40%7. But other study in Nepal showed that adjuvant use of zinc does not decrease mortality rates, duration of hospital stay and requirement of higher antibiotic therapy in neonatal sepsis